US Jobs Report Falls Below Expectations, Adding Just 113,000 Jobs in January

This morning, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released their Employment Situation Summary for January, showing that the US economy added 113,000 jobs last month. This fell short than what was predicted by many economists. However, the unemployment rate notched down from 6.7% to 6.6%, marking a new 5-year low. The BLS also released updated November and December data, with 34,000 more jobs in these months then were previously reported.

It was noted that employment grew in construction, manufacturing, wholesale trade, mining, professional and business services, and leisure and hospitality. The construction sector saw the most growth in January, adding 48,000 jobs, signaling that the cold weather had little effect on hiring. The retail trade sector lost 13,000 jobs after a difficult holiday season. The federal government also declined 12,000, with 75% of government job losses (9,000 jobs) represented by the US Postal Service. Healthcare, information, transportation and warehousing, and financial activities saw little to no change in January. For the second month in a row, the healthcare sector saw no growth, after averaging gains of 13,000 per month in 2013.

Along with these preliminary numbers for December, the BLS issued final job gains for November, increasing by 33,000 jobs, from +241,000 to +274,000. December numbers also increased, but only by 1,000 jobs from +74,000 jobs to +75,000.